WOOLLY hats have helped fund vital support for servicemen and women who have suffered mentally or physically as a result of their military experiences.

The Hat Fit for a Hero project – launched by Durham University’s Culture Durham – has delivered £4,356 to Walking with the Wounded’s Head Start - a charity that helps ex-servicemen and women.

Members of the public knitted and donated hats that were then sold to raise funds for the charity which provides therapy and support in their rehabilitation.

Shelley Hamilton-Smith, regional manager of Walking with the Wounded’s Project Nova, attended a Hat Fit for a Hero cheque handover event on Palace Green, Durham - where Culture Durham's latest exhibition Somme 1916: From Durham to the Western Front is open to the public.

She said: “A big thank you to everyone at Palace Green Library, Durham University, involved in the Hat fit for a Hero fundraising event.

“The money raised will be used to help ex-servicemen and women who experience mental health difficulties access effective therapeutic support.”

The response to the project has been overwhelming, with more than 600 hats received.

Contributions from local craftspeople, community groups and dedicated individuals from as far afield as the USA all amounted to this total.

The labels attached to many of the hats contained notes of great sentiment, extending thanks to our service people and laying out peoples’ heartfelt motivations for their participation.

Exhibition Curator Julie Biddlecombe-Brown, who dreamed up the initiative, said: “The response of the crafting community has been incredible. We had an initial target of 100 hats which we thought was possible at a push.

“To have received six times that target has helped us to raise more money for this very important charity.”

Hats were sold from Palace Green Library’s gift shop, Durham’s Winter Festival and the University Bill Bryson Library. Barclays Bank generously match funded the first £1,000 raised and this is included in the total.

Any hats that were left over were sent to Walking with the Wounded for sale at their future events in 2016.